Third Discom Will Begin Operations In April With 7 Times More Liabilities Than Assets
The third discom will absorb ₹35,982 crore in liabilities, comprising ₹9,032 crore in loans (with government guarantees) and ₹26,950 crore in generator payables: Reports
HYDERABAD: The government is gearing up to launch its third power distribution company (discom) from April, dedicated to handling subsidised supplies such as agriculture, lift irrigation, water schemes, and free power up to specified units.
Work is underway to transfer assets and liabilities from the existing northern and southern power distribution corporations (TGNPDCL, TGSPDCL). The operations hinge on approvals from the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (TGERC) and a creditworthiness review under the 2005 Electricity Rules. The full rollout depends on installing smart meters on every distribution transformer and integrating with the revamped distribution sector for greater efficiency, an official said.
The new entity will receive assets worth ₹4,929 crore, including 5,22,479 agricultural distribution transformer-related infrastructure up to consumption points. Around 2,000 staff including 660 engineers, 1,000 operations and maintenance personnel, and 340 administrative staff will also transfer to the new entity.
The third discom will absorb ₹35,982 crore in liabilities, comprising ₹9,032 crore in loans (with government guarantees) and ₹26,950 crore in generator payables. The total bill arrears of ₹45,398 crore from existing discoms, including ₹22,926 crore from lift irrigation, ₹7,084 crore from the HMWS&SB, and ₹5,972 crore from Mission Bhagiratha among others.
By relieving the northern discom in 18 districts and southern discom in 15 districts of free and subsidised supplies, the third discom will cut losses, reduce debt and arrears, improve funding access, and enable infrastructure upgrades for reliable power supply. The power purchase agreements will also enable realign to bolster financial stability, said the officer.
